DNA News - Connecticut

The tortoises on the slopes of Alcedo Volcano in the Galapagos Islands have the signature of an ancient eruption written in their DNA, scientists say. The scientists say their DNA studies time this near-extinction event to 100,000 years ago - exactly the time that Alcedo is known to have blown its top. The explosive past of the Geochelone nigra vandenburghi tortoises is reported in the journal Science by Luciano Beheregaray, at Yale University, Connecticut, US, and colleagues.